Double Down by Bryn Reynolds

DOUBLE-DOWN can be seen on the Bonus Disk of Richard Osterlind's great new DVD set NO CAMERA TRICKS!

DOUBLE-DOWN is A PERFECT DUAL DIVINATION USING REAL CASINO CARDS!

This is a very straightforward dual-divination that involves
very little work in proportion to the impact of the effect. It is very
clean with all actions justified and at the end there is nothing for
the spectators to retrace. No sleights, nothing written down, no marked
cards, and everything is examinable. Just a lot of fun with cool props
and some powerful mentalism.

EFFECT:

The
mentalist shows his "card collection" of some souvenir playing cards
from various casinos. Each card is from a different casino and each
face has a different value. A spectator is invited to cut off some of
the cards for himself (no force) and the remainder is given to a second
spectator. Each freely shuffles their respective packets, even turning
cards face up or face down as they wish, and each spectator thinks of a
secret number...nothing is ever said or written down. The packet is
reassembled and again shuffled by each spectator if they wish; again
some cards face up and some face down if they desire.

The
performer shows the cards to the spectators and they only think of
either the particular casino or playing card value that falls on their
secret mental number as the cards are shown. Since the cards are in
such a mess either could be showing. Nothing is ever said or written
down by either spectator yet the performer not only tells each
spectator whether they thought of a casino or a playing card he then
goes on to name the exact casino names or the values of the playing
cards!

"I just got Bryn’s Double-Down.
This is a killer card effect that has great props! You show a bunch of
Casino cards (the kind you buy directly from the Casino with holes
punched in them or corners rounded) from all the major hotels in Las
Vegas. The cards are fairly divided between 2 spectators and mixed up.
I mean they are “really” mixed up both face-up and face-down! They are
reassembled and further mixed if you want. Then the 2 spectators each
“mentally” choose a number and a card as they are fairly fanned in
front of them. The mentalist then names either the Casino name or the
card itself depending on what way they are facing. It is direct, fun
and uses great props!"- Richard Osterlind

"'Double
Down' is exceedingly clever. The more I work with it, the more I
appreciate its subtle and sophisticated construction. Bryn's use of
individual casino cards is inspired and very commercial. One of the
best, most interesting tricks I've come across in a long time; double
(thumbs) up for 'Double Down.'"- John Bannon, author of Smoke & Mirrors and Impossibilia